


Those Summer Nights

by YesIsAWorld



Series: (Not Really) Grease AU [1]
Category: BBC Radio 1 RPF, One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - America, Alternate Universe - High School, Beach House, Explicit Sexual Content, First Kiss, Flashbacks, Loss of Virginity, M/M, Nerd Nick, Popular Louis, Summer Romance, one summer stand
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-14
Updated: 2017-11-14
Packaged: 2019-01-28 08:04:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12602064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YesIsAWorld/pseuds/YesIsAWorld
Summary: Nick’s whirlwind summer romance ended when he left his dad’s beach house. Now it’s the first day of senior year, and Nick needs to avoid both the most popular boy at school and his friends’ probing questions.





	Those Summer Nights

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Saori](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Saori/gifts).



> Saori, thanks for the great prompts! As soon as I read the 'one summer stand AU' I knew I what I wanted to do, so I really hope you like this because I deviated a bit from the original prompt. 
> 
> Thank you to the greatest beta that ever did beta, and to the group chat for letting me talk through this plot over and over and over again until it worked. MWAH!
> 
>  
> 
> **Please do not post this fic or any of my other fics on any other websites. I'm not currently allowing translations either. Thank you for respecting my wishes.**

Nick has absolutely nothing to wear. Senior year starts in less than twelve hours and he hates his whole wardrobe. He spent all summer at the Jersey Shore with his dad, and coming back to his mom’s house the day before school starts means that everything he wore over the summer is now dirty and balled up in his luggage. He isn’t ready to unpack… isn’t ready to admit that the summer is over and that another dreaded school year is about to begin. 

He strips out of his shorts and t-shirt, turns off his light, and climbs into his bed, which he actually missed terribly over the summer. There was one whole night where he waxed poetic to Louis about his mattress at his mom’s house and how he always feels like a visitor at his dad’s. Nick groans. What a fucking nerd. He had one summer with Louis and he wasted at least some of that precious time talking about his mattress. 

They didn’t talk about the end, was the thing. Nick avoided all talk about what would happen once the summer was over. Now his thumb hovers over the message icon on his phone; what would he even say now that the spontaneity of the summer is over and he is back to being boring, predictable Nick? He types out ‘Good Night :) xx’, then he deletes the kisses, and then he deletes the whole message. It’s strange, thinking about falling asleep before Louis wishes him sweet dreams. But it’s back to reality. He puts his phone down then bangs his head against his pillow a few times. 

From the corner of his eye, he sees his phone light up. He quickly grabs it, even though he’s not expecting Louis to message him. 

**payno:** You boys survive the summer?

**payno changed the subject to “the Marvel-ous clan”**

Looks like the group chat is being revived. 

**payno:** everyone’s back, right?

 **payno:** (Nick, that means you, dick)

 **styles:** We’re seniors 

**Niall:** And we’re gonna rule the school

**Nick:** got back today. Not ready for my alarm tomorrow

**payno:** uh niall, just because we’re seniors does  
not mean we’re suddenly cool

 **Niall:** hey, i think we’re cool

 **Niall:** …even if no one else does

 **styles:** li and I are running in the morning. We can  
call, nick? 2nd alarm

 **payno:** speak for yourself. Dude flaked on us this  
summer, he can sleep through his alarm for all I care

 **Niall:** did the shore not have wifi? Lose your phone  
in the ocean?

**Nick:** I hate you all. Not like any of you were giving daily updates 

**payno:** (pouts) you're the glue holding us  
together. Scroll up. We were lost without your  
incessant stories 

Nick knows that he wasn’t the best at keeping in touch with his best friends over the summer. But the start of summer was unbelievable enough, and then it kept going, and he had no idea where to even start telling them all what was happening. He wants to tell them, he does, but it feels a bit like a surreal dream and there’s a fear that vocalizing any of it is going to make the end of it too real and the rest of it not real enough. 

**Nick:** king of pointless gossip. Think I could win Most Likely to Host a Radio Show or something this year?

**styles:** speaking of gossip... rumor has it that Zayn  
finally _finally_ hooked up with Will 

**Nick:** seriously? I never thought that'd happen 

If they only knew the story he has to tell. Talk about things he never thought would happen… 

**payno:** ofc it was going to happen. Those 2 have  
been dancing around each other for years

 **Z:** I put my phone down for 3 seconds and I come  
back to lies

 **styles:** did you not hook up with Will???

 **Niall:** after years of pining??? 

**payno:** at mini golf???

 **Z:** fucking hell

**Nick:** Was it an actual date? Are you two dating? I can’t believe you didn’t tell me.

**Nick:** was it good?

**Z:** perv

 **payno:** Zaynie lay off him, you know he has to live  
vicariously through us

When he left months ago, that was true. But now… he’s starting to chub up just thinking about the things he was able to cross of his list this summer. Not that he had an actual list. He wants to tell them, has to at least defend his honor in the face of this slander. But the truth is… complicated. A version of the truth will have to do. A version they’ll actually believe. 

**styles:** been studying your SAT words?

**Nick:** um… confession time

**Nick:** there was a guy this summer

**Nick:** a guy who was, like, crazy about me

**Niall:** jfklsjalfdk; as

 **Z:** stop using that word

 **styles:** WHY DIDN’T YOU CALL AND TELL ME?

 **styles:** WE’RE IN A FIGHT

 **payno:** no way. Pics or it didn’t happen. It’s hard to  
imagine someone liking Nick?

**Nick:** whatever Liam. It’s not like you’ve got people lining up at your front door for you

**Z:** did you get a pity kiss?

 **styles:** wait wait wait

 **styles:** you kissed him or he kissed you. I need the  
details

**Nick:** fuck you z. 

**Niall:** our baby boy nick is finally grown up

 **payno:** They’ll be lining up at college though.  
Brains will probably be more important than like,  
baseball skills. 

Nick puts his phone down and takes a few steadying breaths. He’s not ready to give more away yet. Instead of responding, he opens up Instagram and scrolls through Louis’ pictures for the thirtieth time, being extra careful not to accidentally like any of them. He stops at the image of an empty baseball diamond at dusk, the lens flare from the floodlights is enhanced by the filter. There are so many comments and likes, half the school it seems like, and Nick can’t help but wonder how many less Louis would’ve gotten had anyone known that Nick was there in the dugout, just out of view. 

**payno:** did you lose your v-card???

**Nick:** omg Li you’re the worst. What does That even mean, anyway?

**Niall:** he’s asking if you’re still a virgin. 

**Nick:** no, I know. I meant, more, like, conceptually.

**Nick:** stop being a dick

**styles:** WHAT’S HE LIKE I WANT TO KNOW  
EVERYTHING

 

 

The first time Nick ran into him, they were literally oil and water. An unruly wave had just knocked Nick down, so he was sputtering salt water off his tongue and his eyes were wrenched closed from the sting. He was napping on his beach towel, skin glittering with the sheen of baby oil, sunglasses hiding his eyes.

Nick stumbled on the shore and promptly tripped over the guy’s feet. 

He jolted out of his sleep and accused Nick of getting him wet on purpose. Nick wiped at his eyes with the back of his hand, trying to blink away the sea, and thought to himself that it could've been a good way to strike up a conversation with the guy (had he been clever or brave enough to do so) since it seemed like he had a killer body. 

But then Nick’s eyes focused and he could actually feel the blood drain from his face. “No, no. Shit. No. I’m really sorry, wave knocked me over and I lost my bearings. And like, I would obviously never do that on purpose. Not just because you’re you but because that’d be like… rude.”

That would’ve been an excellent time for a tsunami or sinkhole or something that could make Nick disappear. 

Louis Fucking Tomlinson smirked. “Likely story. You’re going to stand there and put the blame on the waves? What’d the ocean ever do to you?”

Nick blinked at him. Louis was joking, right? He had never actually had a conversation with him, and had no idea whatsoever what to say. His entire mind blanked. Belatedly, he realized that he was staring uncomfortably. 

If he turned and ran he could avoid this stretch of beach for the week that Louis’ family was probably staying. But something in Louis’ face looked like maybe he wasn’t being cruel, like he was expecting Nick to respond. 

“They’re, uh, rougher than they look?”

“I wouldn’t know.”

Nick quirked his head. “What?”

“First day down here. Family’s still unpacking. I managed to escape, but I haven’t…” Louis motioned toward the ocean. He cleared his throat. 

Nick wasn’t entirely sure what was happening. But it definitely seemed like he was having a conversation with Louis. 

Or, he would’ve been, if he was able to string two words together. 

“Were you done for the day, or do you wanna…” Louis looked to the ocean. 

Nick shrugged, then found his words again. “Yeah, alright.” 

Louis slid his sunglasses off his face and shook out his hair with a little flick of his head. He looked up at Nick and smiled. Nick willed himself not to get hard—the cold ocean, that was a great destination—but he had trouble looking away from the long eyelashes framing his gorgeous blue eyes. 

“Race ya!”

Louis took off, tossing his sunglasses in the sand behind him, and kicking up sand as he ran. He was fast, faster than Nick for sure—he was a star athlete after all—and Nick was anything but. Not wanting to make a total fool of himself, Nick put in more athletic effort than he ever had, and managed not to trail too far behind. 

As Louis’ ankles hit the water he yelped. “Fuck! Why didn’t you warn me it was fucking freezing?” He screeched as he bent down and before Nick realized what was happening, Louis cupped his hands in the water, and brought them up to splash Nick. 

“Fuuuuuck!” In the short time Nick had been out of the water he had started to warm again and the drops were like frozen pinpricks against his skin. He started to giggle when Louis did; his high soft laugh was contagious. “Oh, you’re gonna get it now!”

Nick attempted to get him back, but of course Louis saw every move coming and evaded Nick’s multiple attacks. Splashing turned to attempted dunks, which turned to diving under the waves together. Nick was laughing so hard that his sides hurt. 

By the time they stopped to take a breather, they had moved down the shore and it was going to be a bit of a walk back to where they had left their towels. It had been years since he had simply played in the ocean, probably not since his brother and sister were still living at home, and he was suddenly embarrassed by the childlike activity.

Nick stood up abruptly and took a step back from Louis. “We should probably…” 

Louis opened his mouth, then closed it again. “Um, yeah. I didn’t realize we had traveled that far,” he finally said. 

They started the trek back through the sand, weaving through all the people on the beach. 

“I’m Louis,” he said out of nowhere. 

Nick turned his head to squint at Louis, suddenly worried that Louis thought they were strangers. Which, technically they were, even though Nick knew _of_ Louis. But Louis was biting his lip and looked nervous. 

“Yeah, I know. I’m Nick.”

Louis whooshed out a breath. “Yeah, I know. I wasn’t sure if you knew who I was. Didn’t seem like there was a good way to ask.”

Bolstered by the fact that Louis actually knew who he was—and weirdly enough seemed to be having a good time with him—Nick asked, “Want to come back to my house for lunch?” 

“Sure your mom won’t mind?”

“Mom’s not here.” They ducked under some older boys playing frisbee. “Staying with my dad all summer.”

“Oh! Cool. I’m just here with my mom. Well, not just my mom. Sisters too, but… yeah. We’ll be here for the summer also. Glad I ran into you—no, you ran into me.” Louis grinned and bumped shoulders with Nick, making him wonder what it be like to bury his face into the crook of Louis’ neck, if he smelled of coconut and sweat and salt, if he would let Nick tag along for the next few months. 

“And he won’t mind. My dad, I mean. I don’t even think he’s home,” Nick babbled. 

Louis squinted and gave Nick a small smile. “Okay.”

“I mean, shit, not like, in a ‘my parents aren’t home way’ just like, he has work, so yeah…” Nick was going to kick himself. Obviously Louis hadn’t taken it that way, because, like, he was Louis and Nick was Nick and that was never going to happen, even if they were friendly for a few hours. 

Louis snorted. “Okay, yeah, I figured.”

They collected their towels and draped them over the chaise lounges on Nick’s patio. And then there was a shirtless, cute boy leaning against his dad’s kitchen counters, so Nick stuck his face in the fridge to collect himself for a moment. 

He took a deep breath then looked up at where Louis stood. “BLTs and strawberries?”

Louis licked his lips. “Sounds delicious.”

 

 

Nick’s afraid that if he starts actually talking about the summer he’s going to spill far more than he’s ready to. He hasn’t even taken the time to process what happened, there’s no way he can explain it all to his friends. 

**Nick:** Sorry. Find some other jacking material. Not saying anything tonight. 

**Nick:** I’ll see you losers tomorrow

**Niall:** it’s a new year, maybe we wont be losers

Yeah right. That is some grade-A optimism that Niall has. They’re going to show up at school the next day and they’re going to be the same losers that they always were. 

**styles:** you’re not getting of out this. 

**styles:** see you tomorrow! G’nite!

It isn’t the sweet dreams he was hoping for, but he manages to fall asleep anyhow. 

Of course, the morning is awful. Nick does sleep through his alarm, and wakes up with a start. He throws on the first thing he sees, a pair of jeans that have probably been in the same dirty pile since he left to visit his dad, and a t-shirt that has seen better days. The knot in the pit of his stomach at possibly seeing Louis today makes him want to crawl back into bed and pull the covers over his head. He sticks a frozen waffle in the toaster but it’s barely warm by the time he pops it up on his way out of the house. The first bell rings as Nicks makes it through the front doors at school. At least he avoided the third degree from Niall in homeroom, but he’s already late for first period. He skips stopping at his locker and instead heads straight to AP Calculus. 

When he opens the door, the whole class turns their heads. As the teacher asks, “Rough morning, Nick?” he ducks his head and finds the first open seat he can. The class seems to be a going over the syllabus and a review of what they learned last year. He can read and remembers it all, so he pulls out his phone as discreetly as possible under his desk. 

The group chat was lit during homeroom, it seems. He quickly reads about Liam and Harry’s run, and Niall’s attempts to chat up his crush of the moment, and Zayn’s confession of kissing Will at the Putt-Putt and his trying to figure out how if they’re ‘dating’ or just ‘hanging out.’ There are more questions for him, and now that he has the time, he thinks about how to answer. 

**Nick:** his name was Lewis

That is close enough to the truth. 

**Nick:** I dunno. He was nice, a really good guy. Funny. 

Nick sighs. It’s impossible to encapsulate everything that Louis is, what the summer meant to him. Nice. Funny. He rolls his eyes. 

**Nick:** was a really really good kisser

That’s even worse. He debates deleting the WhatsApp message, but then they’ll mock him even more. He’s already ready for the roasting of his life during lunch period, which they all thankfully have at the same time this year. It’s probably going to be the best thing about senior year. Hopefully Louis is assigned to a different one… less temptation to stare at him. 

**Z:** not that you have anyone else to compare him to

 **Z:** but i’m glad someone finally wanted to kiss your face

**Nick:** don’t you have class now

**Z:** pottery. It’s fine. No clay for a few weeks, apparently. 

**Nick:** that sucks

**Z:** are you surprised

 **styles:** AP bio sucks assssss. I could do a better  
job teaching 

**Niall changed the subject to “.ic table”**

**styles:** tell us more tell us more. I should hope  
he’s a good guy. 

**styles:** you deserve that

 **Z:** what the fuck Ni? .ic?

**Nick:** i dunno. What do you want to know

**styles:** the kiss! How was it?

Nick smiles to himself. Until he remembers that the last one was the last one, and he’s still not sure if Louis is in any of his classes this year. He doesn’t know if seeing him or not seeing him would be worse. 

 

 

The morning was grey. Nick woke up with a headache and immediately wished he was still asleep. He could hear the gentle patter of the rain against the roof so there was no chance to run into Louis on the beach, accidentally or not. It had been almost two weeks of perfect beach weather: hot and sparse clouds and an occasional breeze to cool things off. Clearly it wasn’t going to last forever, but it felt like a lost opportunity. One day without Louis and it was possible Louis would forget all about him. It was nice while it lasted. 

Nick dragged himself out of bed and took a long hot shower that did nothing to help him wake up. After a bowl of cereal he sat on the couch, wrapped in a blanket that smelled different than the blankets at his mom’s house, and hoped there was one of those awful movies on cable that he’d seen a hundred times but would watch again. 

After only a moment of total contentment, there was a soft knock at the front door. With a heavy sigh Nick stood and wrapped the blankets around himself so he looked and felt like a hooded burrito. He shuffled to the front door to sign for a package or whatever. 

He opened the door to find a soaking wet Louis Tomlinson on his doorstep. 

“What are you… Come in. Come in.” Nick stepped back and held the door open for Louis. 

“I hope you don’t mind me dropping by. I didn’t have any plans today, thought I’d see what you were up to,” Louis said as he dripped on the foyer tile. 

Nick looked down at his burrito-chic ensemble, and wished with his whole heart that he could turn back time and leave the blankets on the couch when he heard the door. He shook his head out of the hood part at least. 

Louis smiled. “Cozy.”

“I was just watching bad TV. Don’t have anything planned.”

“Infomercial bad or cult classic bad?”

Nick shrugged, heat rising in his cheeks with embarrassment. “ _The Rock_?”

Louis tilted his head back and laughed. “My favorite!”

Nick couldn’t believe his good luck. “Really? You want to… It just started.”

“Yeah, if you don’t mind.” He looked down at his wet clothes. “Sorry, don’t think we have an umbrella. Or like, my mom probably does, but I didn’t want to bother her since my sister was throwing a tantrum, and it didn’t seem that far.”

“You want…” Nick gulped. “You want to borrow something, something dry?”

Louis shrugged. “Uh, yeah, I guess? Better than getting your couch all wet, right?”

“Um, okay, so just… uh, wait here. Let me get a towel then you can come in.” Nick dropped the blankets on the couch as he passed. He pulled out his favorite, softest track pants and a vintage tee. He opened his sock drawer and his hand froze as he reached in to grab one one of his many pairs of white crew socks. Without overthinking it he took a pair and held them to his chest as he moved to the linen closet to get two towels. Next to the linen closet was the dryer and he tossed the socks in and turned the dial. 

“Here, uh, for you,” Nick said as he shoved one of the towels and the clothes at Louis. He pointed to the door next to the hallway. “The bathroom is right there.” 

“Thanks. I’ll just…” Louis toed out of his Vans and left them in a messy pile by the door, next to Nick’s Nikes. 

As Louis walked away, Nick tossed the towel on the floor and used his foot to swish it back and forth to soak up the wetness. He followed Louis’ trail to the bathroom, then left the damp towel in a pile in his own room. He hovered by the dryer while Louis changed, trying hard not to be a creep thinking about him getting undressed. 

Standing by the very unsexy dryer was a great choice. 

“Hey Nicholas?” 

Nick never let anyone, _anyone_ , call him Nicholas, but one day it rolled off Louis’ tongue and Nick couldn’t bring himself to correct Louis. Then it was too late to say anything without it being awkward. So it was fine. Nick was fine. 

“Yeah?” Nick shut off the dryer and pulled out the hot socks. He tossed them from hand to hand for a moment. 

The bathroom door opened and Louis peeked his head out, looking down the hallway one way and the other looking for Nick. “I hung them on the curtain rod to dry. That okay?”

“Oh, yeah, sure. Of course.” He took a few steps closer to Louis, then thrust his arm out to give him the warm socks. “Here, uh, for your…”

Louis reached out and took them from Nick’s hand. “They’re warm.”

“Yeah, uh, it’s stupid. I can get you a regular pair. But my mom, she used to, like, when we would play in the snow or puddle jump or whatever, she’d warm socks for us sometimes, for when we got back inside. It’s like, the coziest thing. But obviously you don’t have to—”

“They’re great,” Louis practically whispered. He cleared his throat. “Thanks, that’s really… Thanks.”

“You wanna…” Nick turned toward the living room, “watch them escape from Alcatraz?”

Louis pretended to be stabbed in the heart. “Uuuugh. Spoiler alert!”

“What?” Nick sputtered, “I-I-But you...”

Louis giggled. “Kidding. Yeah, I’ve seen it like, a million times.”

“Oh, cool. Yeah, me too.” 

They got themselves situated on the couch; Louis wore his blanket like a cape and Nick sort of piled his on his lap, just in case any situations arose and he needed a bit more coverage. They watched the movie in relative silence, both sitting up straight on their halves of the couch. Louis looked so beautiful with the blue glow of the screen. 

As the end credits scrolled on screen, the rain still steadily beat against the house. Nick thought he might be pushing his luck, but it also seemed like Louis wasn’t having an awful time. “Wanna stick around and see if there’s something else equally amazing on?”

Louis looked thoughtful for a moment and then said, “I’m actually a little bit hungry.”

Even knowing that was going to be his answer, Nick’s stomach plummeted. “Oh, okay.”

“Do you have, like, popcorn? Or another snack?”

“Yeah. Yeah. I do.” Nick jumped up. “I know we have popcorn, or you could come see what else we have.”

Louis reached for the remote. “Sorry. I’ve molded myself to your couch. You pop the popcorn, I’ll find the next movie?”

Nick smiled at Louis. “Deal.” The smile Louis sent back his way make Nick weak in the knees and he clutched the back of the couch. He was glad he had a few minutes to compose himself. 

While the popcorn spun in the microwave, Nick peeked around the corner, watching Louis flip through the channels. Before he was caught staring, he grabbed two Cokes from the fridge and the biggest bowl he could find, and then watched the time count down. He stopped the microwave with a second left. After he poured it into the bowl he quickly ran his fingers through his hair and did a quick breath test, then tucked the two drinks in his arm and headed back to the living room. 

Nick laughed when he saw what Louis chose to watch. “Is this—” 

“ _Sweet Home Alabama_ is a classic and if you don’t want to watch I can go home.”

“No! It’s a… a good movie.” Nick shuffled forward and presented in arm in a way that Louis could easily take the drinks. “The uh, guy, whatshisface, he’s got like, amazing eyes.”

Louis looked up at him and held his gaze for a moment before looking down again. “Yeah?”

“Mm,” Nick mumbled, “got a thing for blue ones.”

The small smile that it looked like Louis was trying to tamp down gave Nick another surge of bravery and he sat down a few inches closer to Louis. He placed the popcorn down between them and grabbed a handful. 

The first brush of their hands was accidental; Nick pulled back as if he was burned and the tilt of the bowl told him that Louis moved his hand too. The second one he was less sure about; brief as it was, it seemed like maybe Louis’s pinky was searching him out. The next time Nick may have been lingering amongst the butter and the salt, waiting for Louis to reach out again. It was like a shock of electricity when their pinkies linked. After a long minute, Nick slowly turned his head, worried he’d spook the moment and it’d be over. 

Louis quickly glanced in Nick’s direction, then turned too. Nick wasn’t prepared for the nerves evident on Louis’ face, the small wrinkle between his brows, the question in his eye. 

Nick didn’t know the right thing to say, so he didn’t say anything, just gave Louis the tiniest of nods. 

Louis unhooked their fingers and moved with a sudden spurt of energy to place the bowl on the table in front of them, and then wriggled a bit, readjusting his body and blanket so he was sitting cross-legged with the blanket knotted tight around his chest, under his armpits. Nick took the time to adjust a bit too, and when they settled down again, their legs and arms lined up and were touching. This was the closest Nick had ever sat next to someone he liked and for the first time he considered that maybe, not even in the furthest realm of possibility, but realistically, it was possible Louis was into him too. It was like the Twilight Zone. 

Louis’ hand was right there, and Nick’s own fingers twitched. He was close enough to inch his hand over and after a moment’s pause where his hand hovered on top of Louis’, he slid his hand under Louis’ and locked their fingers together. 

Louis kept watching the movie but Nick didn’t miss the smile that appeared on Louis’ face. 

Hand holding led to toes tucking under legs led to moving closer and before he knew it, Nick’s heart pounded under Louis’ head, his chest being used as Louis’ pillow as they were basically laying on top of each other. When the credits started to roll, Louis turned a bit and looked up at Nick. He looked so cozy, his hair disheveled a bit. 

Louis pushed himself up a bit so their faces were a bit more level. “Hi,” Louis whispered. 

“Hi yourself,” Nick responded, just as quiet. 

Louis’ eyes flicked to Nick’s mouth and then Nick went cross-eyed as Louis moved forward. Time was suspended as Nick felt Louis’ warm exhale on his lips. 

“I want to kiss you,” Louis said.

Nick nodded ever so slightly. “Please.”

And then Louis’ lips were against his and they were dry and soft. Nick was kissing someone, a popular someone: Louis Tomlinson. None of his friends were going to believe this. And then they were French kissing and it was like the skies had parted and Nick suddenly understood what all the fuss was about, why kids at his school found nooks and corners during their free periods to just do _this._

That night all Nick could do was run his fingers over his swollen lips. He wondered if his dad could tell that he had spent the afternoon making out on the couch. Probably not, since his dad never noticed anything. 

Over the next few days, it was much of the same: hanging out and making out. They’d separate, leaving Nick hard and aching and wondering if at some point he’d be lucky enough to go further with Louis. 

 

 

Nick can’t help but to zone out during his Calculus class; how is there this much to explain about the class? Once his teacher says that they will be able to redo any questions they miss on tests—aka Nick’s going to pass it in his sleep—Nick finds it impossible to think about anything other than Louis’ lips on his. He knew that Louis wouldn’t be in AP Calculus, and he wonders if he’ll see him at all in any of his other classes. Probably not. He’s not sure if that’s good thing or not. 

He discreetly checks his phone again. The group chat has died down for now, and Nick has no new messages. He knew he was setting himself up for heartbreak over the summer, but he didn’t realize at the time how painful it would be. There’s no new message from Louis, which isn’t a surprise, but is awful just the same.

He’s pretty sure that he’s going through Louis withdrawal and hopes he’ll be out of Nick’s system within the next few days. Nick knows he’s full of shit, but there needs to be some sort of light at the end of the tunnel or he’s going to crawl out of his skin at how much he misses Louis. 

Maybe if they hadn’t done everything they did, that would’ve made this easier. Nick doubts it, and besides, that ship has sailed. 

 

 

His dad had left for work and Nick was feeling lazy so he hadn’t yet gotten out of bed. 

“Hey, Nick?” There was a gentle knock gently on his bedroom door. 

Nick tossed the book he was reading to the floor and cleared his throat. “Louis?”

“Can I come in? Saw your dad outside, said I could come in.”

“Yeah, of course. I’m, uh…” Nick pulled the blanket up a bit to check out which boxers he was wearing. They weren’t his first choice, but at least they weren’t his oldest, rattiest pair. 

Louis stepped in, turned and closed the door softly, then turned back to Nick with a smile. “You look soft.” Louis did too. Nick wanted to reach out and run his hands down his shirt, to see if it was as comfy as it looked, to feel Louis under it. 

“Haven’t brushed my teeth yet.”

Louis flipped his hair off his forehead. “No time like the present.”

“Right, I’ll just…” Nick was awkward on a good day, but climbing out his bed in ‘Kiss Me! I’m Irish!’ boxers while half hard in front of his years-long crush caused him to stumble to the bathroom as though he was just learning to walk. 

“Get a hold of yourself,” Nick grumbled to himself as he added the toothpaste to his toothbrush. It was totally fine that Louis was in his room, alone… with all of his stuff. All of his clothes, the journal he only wrote embarrassing things in, and the stuffed puppy he’d had since he was a toddler. Nick took a deep, steadying breath to calm himself, but ended up inhaling toothpaste foam and having a coughing fit. After his mouth was minty fresh and his eyes stopped watering, his plan was to go back in and act like this was a totally normal occurrence. He gave himself a small smack on the face and then adjusted himself a bit so maybe there was a chance Louis wouldn't realized how affected he was.

The fear of Louis snooping and finding every embarrassing thing hidden in his room was unfounded. Nick returned to find Louis under his covers, his head on his pillow. 

Nick froze, because his brain was short-circuiting at the sight.

Louis blinked up at him, as though it was the most natural thing on earth, then raised the duvet in an invitation for Nick to join. “I’m still sleepy and it looked so warm.”

Screw half hard; Nick covered himself as he walked over. There was nowhere to hide his arousal. 

“You’re Irish?” Louis smirked. 

“Hm? No. What?” 

Louis shook his head and Nick realized that he was talking about his boxers. His whole body flushed. 

He laid down on his back, and Louis draped the covers back over them before tucking himself into Nick’s side. Louis’ arm lay across the knobs of Nick’s hip bone and his leg was thrown across Nick’s _and they were in Nick’s bed._

Nick turned his head toward Louis, who was right under his armpit, facing up at him. 

“Is this alright?” Louis asked.

Nick nodded and then closed the few inches between them, nudging Louis’ lips apart with his own. 

The gentleness didn't last long. Before Nick knew it Louis was on top of him, his fingers twisted through Nick’s hair and they ground their dicks together as they tasted each other. Nick brought his hands under Louis’ shirt (it was even softer than it looked) and scratched down his back, making Louis groan. 

Nick knew if they didn't stop he'd be coming in front of— _because of_ —Louis Tomlinson. For an embarrassingly long time, Nick had gotten off to the thought of Louis Tomlinson, but it had always been a wild fantasy, never even in the realm of possibility. Nick had no idea if they were on same page, if he was going to come too quickly, if Louis wanted to come like this. He pressed his hands against Louis chest and ended the kiss, needing a quick breather and trying to find a way to check in without ruining the mood. 

As Nick kissed Louis’ forehead, Louis rolled his hips again and whined “Nick” then shuddered in his arms before going still. Both of their chests were rising and falling rapidly. Nick was pretty sure he knew what just happened, but didn’t know what to do about it. 

Louis kept his face buried against Nick’s neck. 

“Um…” Nick scratched gently at Louis’ shoulder blades. “Did you just…”

Louis nodded without picking his head up. 

“Oh. Was that… Are you…”

“Sorry,” Louis whispered. 

Nick wasn’t sure what Louis was sorry for but he desperately wanted Louis to not feel sorry at all about what happened. “No, it’s fine. Don’t be—unless you’re sorry that it happened with me—it’s… I was about to…” Nick paused. “I was about to come. That’s why I stopped, like, just to make sure that it was okay with you. So please don’t be sorry that it happened.” 

“Fuck. You’re so…” Louis lifted his head, finally. His cheeks were red and his hair was matted with sweat. Nick couldn’t believe that he actually got to witness Louis Tomlinson like that. “I should have asked, I didn’t even think—” 

Nick didn’t want to ruin the mood, but he was still hard, and more than a little jealous that Louis had already gotten off, since that was apparently a thing they could do together. Louis was still curled around him, his thigh right there and Nick jerked his hips. 

“Shit, sorry, again, I’m clearly awful at this,” Louis babbled. Nick thrust his hips again and Louis asked, “What do you need? What can I—”

Nick shushed him and leaned back in another kiss.

Louis kept his leg stiff and Nick started to chase his orgasm with vigor, because Louis wanted him to. This was every fantasy he ever had come to life. He tried to swallow down his moan but a few escaped as his balls tightened again and he tossed his head back and bit his lip as he finally came in his boxers. Louis held him through it and then kissed him thoroughly as he came down. 

Nick got off with Louis Fucking Tomlinson. This was the greatest moment of his entire life. 

“Was that really okay?” Louis asked. 

“Incredible,” Nick answered honestly. He still felt loopy and loose from the orgasm and his tongue must’ve been too. “Not that I have anything to compare it to.”

“Mmm, I thought it was incredible too. Wanna nap now.”

“Was barely awake when you got here, so yeah, that sounds perfect.”

As Nick nodded off, his thoughts hummed in time with Louis’ breathing. Inhale. I got off with Louis Tomlinson. Exhale. I’m cuddling with Louis Tomlinson. Inhale. I got off with Louis Tomlinson. Exhale. I’m cuddling with Louis Tomlinson. 

He couldn’t help but worry that this was all an elaborate wet dream, but if it was, he never wanted to wake up. 

 

 

Nick doesn’t pull out his phone again until he makes a pit stop at his locker. There are more pleas for him to give up the details of his exploits and he doesn’t know how to answer them. 

**Nick:** dunno what you want me to say. 

**Nick:** you all know what kissing is like… It’s like that.

All around him students welcome each other back. He pockets his phone and his schedule for the rest of the day and as he’s shoving his backpack into the locker, he hears a disturbance coming down the hall. 

The thing Nick really wants to do is dive into his locker head first and close it behind him. He’s sure someone would come and get him after everyone else went home. But, Nick is not the complete coward he once was. He’s not exactly brave either, so before the clump of athletes chanting “Tommo! Tommo! Tommo!” get any closer, he quietly shuts his locker so he doesn’t draw any attention to himself, and turns and speed walks down the hall, ducking into the nearest classroom. He watches as they pass. Louis Fucking Tomlinson is in the center of the pack, he's got his bashful smile on, and his friends seem to be pumping him up for something. Avoiding them all year is going to get really old really quickly.

He waits out the athletes still making a ruckus down the hall then doubles back the way he came. Their different social statuses were always painfully obvious to Nick, but things had changed over the summer, and Nick isn’t ready to slip back into the roles they used to fill. 

Because some god is smiling down on him, he makes it to class on time and even manages to slip into a seat right next to Liam as the bell rings. 

**payno:** Cutting it close Nick.

**Nick:** close call with the jocks

**Niall** : Imagine the horror if you had to talk to them  
one day

 **styles:** Ni, just because you’re friendly with literally  
everyone in the school doesn’t mean the rest of us  
are

 **styles:** they didn’t bother you, did they?

**Nick:** they were assholes like always

**Z:** can you stop blowing up my phone? Mr. Meyers  
is about to steal mine

 **Z:** but also, how far did you get with your mystery  
dude? 

“Mr. Grimshaw. Put your phone away. And let this be a warning to the rest of the class that I’ll confiscate the phones I see out this year,” his English teacher threatens. “Mr. Payne, don’t think I don’t see yours as well.”

Nick rolls his eyes but pockets his phone anyway and he hears Liam huff across the aisle. “That’s illegal,” he mutters under his breath. When he looks up to see the teacher looks disappointed he ducks his head and focuses on the handout, and hopes his blush isn’t as noticeable as he thinks it might be.

He really does try to focus on class, but it’s hard, alright. He zones out to the feeling of his phone vibrating in his pocket as he wonders how he seems to have the only teachers who care about cell phone usage in class. He’s sure his friends are still trying to weasel the sordid details out of him. He’s thought about it a lot, and still isn’t sure how much he wants to share. 

 

 

Nick pulled on his swim trunks and wondered if he’d see Louis again. When Nick’s dad had come home the day before, they had sprung apart from each other as though they weren’t just making out and about to get off for the third time in one day like the horny teenaged boys they were. He had walked Louis to the door, and after making sure his dad wasn’t in their eyeline, had stolen another kiss. Louis was sure to have gotten home and realized that the whole day was a momentary lapse in judgement. Nick threw the beach towel over his shoulder, made sure the key was still in the hide-a-key by the door, and made his way to the ocean. 

There was no sign of Louis. Nick tried not to take it personally. 

He swam against the current all the way to the start of the boardwalk, then let the tide help bring him back to the beach. His whole body felt like jelly when he finally stood again, knee deep in water with tiny shells digging into the soles of his feet, but the physical ache helped quiet his mind. 

Louis. He was like a oasis. He was sitting cross legged on his towel, which he had placed next to Nick's. He had a hand above his eyes, shielding the sun and Nick just stood there. Louis waved with his free hand so Nick walked his way. 

"You were swimming?"

Nick couldn't explain that itch that had disappeared with the exertion. He shrugged instead. "Wasn't sure you'd want to hang out today."

"Oh." A little wrinkle appeared between his eyes. "Because of yesterday?" It was Louis' turn to shrug. "It's not going to be weird now, right? You're okay?"

"Yeah, fine. Not going to be weird unless you make it weird."

"Okay."

Nick collapsed onto his towel.

"I was going to ask if you wanted to go to the boardwalk today. I'm already craving one of those frozen lemonades—"

"Yeah, okay." That sounded amazing to Nick too. He was parched.

"Are you sure? It's a long walk."

Nick took a huge steadying breath. Finally he caught his breath. "Yeah, but that sounds good." He looked up the sky. "It's gonna be a hot one."

Nick ran his fingers through his hair and shook a bit to help it dry out. He saw Louis watching him out of the corner of his eye and he ducked his head a bit; he wasn’t used to being the focus of Louis' gaze. 

"I'm ready when you are," he mumbled towards Louis. 

"You going to put on a shirt?" 

Nick covered his non-existent abs with his arm. "Huh?"

Louis reached out and ran his fingers across Nick's arm. A shiver ran down Nick's spine and settled as a fizzle in his stomach. Louis' eyes dragged down his chest. "Was hoping maybe you wouldn't," Louis said softly. They had a moment of eye contact and Louis snapped his head toward the ocean as Nick could feel his cheeks heating up. 

Nick stood up and tucked his shirt into his bathing suit at his hip. Louis stood too, slipping his feet into his flip flops. Nick picked his up and held them in one hand as they started to walk. As they made their way down the beach, their arms kept brushing and Nick tried to work up the nerve to simply grab hold of Louis' hand but couldn't. 

By the time they reached the boardwalk, Nick was dripping with sweat, and the frozen lemonade sounded better than ever. After Louis paid for their frosty concoctions, they decided to to go the arcade and take advantage of the shelter, even if it wasn’t any cooler in there. 

When they ran out of quarters and their thumbs were sore, Louis bought them cheese fries and Cokes for dinner, Nick would’ve offered but he had left his wallet at his house, and as they walked back onto the beach, bellies full and smiles on their faces, Louis took Nick’s hand and led him below the dock. 

It was more secluded there, and Nick was trying not to assume there was going to be a repeat performance of the day before but he kept finding himself staring at Louis’ mouth. They knocked knees occasionally, and after pointing out a cool looking shell, Louis scooted over. He leaned back on his hands, his one hand behind Nick’s back. Nick breathed in the heady mix of Louis’ sunscreen and deodorant.

“...college?”

“Sorry, what?” Nick had been surprised to learn that Louis was more than eye candy. Over the past few weeks, while trying to fall asleep, Nick had caught himself, multiple times, going over something Louis had said earlier in the day. Nick didn’t need to know that he was also funny and had opinions on current events and could carry on conversations that didn’t revolve around being captain of their high school baseball team. It was going to be such a bummer when Louis ended this thing, whatever it was. 

“Do you know where you want to go to college?” Louis repeated. 

Nick nodded. “I’m going to apply early admission to Penn. So… fingers crossed. If not, I’m sure I’ll get into one of my other top schools. Not too worried. There’s a lot of great schools that are pretty close to home.”

“Wow.” Louis looked impressed. “Penn’s in Philly, right?”

Nick nodded. 

“I really hope you get in. That’d be sick.”

“What about you? Have you thought about it at all?”

Louis dug his feet into the sand. “Yeah. I, uh, there’s this program? It’s probably stupid. I mean, I probably won’t get in, but it’s an accelerated degree. So I’d go to Penn State for two years and get my premed and then go to Thomas Jefferson, in Philly, to finish up med school. So I’d be done and a doctor in six years.”

“Wow.” It was Nick’s turn to be impressed. “That’s—”

“Stupid, I know. But it’s worth a shot since I have so many siblings. Less for my parents to pay for, you know?”

“No, not stupid. That’s really cool. Do you think you’ll get in?”

Louis shrugged. “There was a list of things you needed to apply, and I had them all. Wasn’t sure I’d be in the top ten of our grade after junior year, but turns out I was, so, I don’t know. We’ll see.”

“I didn’t know…” Nick realized he was going to sound like an asshole if he continued, so he let the sentence drop. 

“That I wasn’t a dumb jock?” Louis smirked. “Yeah, that’s annoying, but like, you’re not the only one, so it’s, like, fine. I mean, it is what it is, you know. My friends can be boneheads sometimes so even though it’s frustrating I get why I’m kinda lumped in with them.”

“Are they nice, your friends? They seem sort of… I dunno.”

Louis’ brow furrowed. “Yeah, they’re cool.”

“Oh.”

“Why?”

Nick shrugged. “Nevermind.” 

“No, what. You think they’re stereotypical asshole jocks?”

Nick shrugged again. He was stupid for bringing it up, clearly Louis wasn’t about to start ragging on his friends. 

“They’re not,” Louis said. 

“I’m not saying they are.”

“I feel like you are,” Louis pressed. 

Nick picked up a handful of sand and let the grains fall through to his other hand then he repeated the process back to the other hand before letting it all fall back to the beach. “They’re not always the nicest, to like, people they aren’t friends with.”

“Really?”

Nick shrugged. He wasn’t about to get into details. “Nothing too bad, like they’re not beating people up, but like… I’ve heard stories.” 

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“I guess I’ll have to pay closer attention. I didn’t…” Louis stared out into the ocean for a long time until he finally said, “You know angelfish? Like, really pretty, big fins? Sometimes people have them in like big tanks in their homes?” Nick waited until Louis pulled out his phone and did a Google image search. “I went to this aquarium in Florida and the guy was telling me that people buy them for their homes, but then like end up dumping them in the ocean or whatever, because they have this pointy part that’s poisonous. And now there’s a major overpopulation problem, because like, there are no natural predators in Florida. So they’re ruining the ecosystem and they’re trying to get angelfish to become a popular restaurant food so that more people will fish for them, because they’re not poisonous to eat.”

“Weird.” Nick reached out and grabbed Louis’ hand. “I hope they figure it out.”

“Yeah, me too.”

“Did you know that octopuses are super super super smart?” Nick asked. When Louis shook his head, Nick launched into telling him all about the weird quirks of the octopus. 

The conversation was easy after that, lasting until after the sun set and then into the night. They had moved closer in order to stay warm against the occasional breeze. It was a lame excuse, but pressed together, Nick couldn’t find it in him to care. 

After a particularly long moment of silence where they were just looking at each other, something finally snapped and they started making out in the sand. The kissing led to wandering hands and that led to humping hips and after what felt like an eternity of pleasure Nick was seriously afraid of coming in his shorts, in public, as he rutted against Louis, so he came back up for air. 

A shrill ring from Louis’ phone cut through the quiet night. “Oh shit.” He brought his finger up to his mouth to tell Nick to be quiet and then answered. “Hey Mom.” Nick dug his toes into the sand as Louis listened to whatever his mom was saying. “Sorry. I… Yeah, coming home right now.” Louis rolled his eyes at whatever his mom said next. “Mom, I’m at the boardwalk. With a friend. We’re walking back right now.” His eyes widened and he shook his head. “No, Mom, seriously I’m on my way. You do not need to come pick me up.” 

Nick followed Louis lead as he stood and started walking back. 

“Yes, Mom, okay. I promise. Okay. Bye.” 

Louis ended the call and breathed out. “Fuck.” 

“What was that about?”

“Curfew. Was supposed to be home half an hour ago.” 

“Oh, sorry, I would’ve…” Nick trailed off because he didn’t know and he’s not sure he would’ve been able to pull himself off Louis to make curfew anyway. 

“Nah, it’s fine.” Louis smiled at Nick and his eyes shone in the moonlight. “Whatever small punishment she gives me will be worth it.” He clasped his hand around Nick’s and they walked back hand-in-hand.

 

 

The moment the bell rings, Nick pulls his phone back out and sees that clearly Harry and Niall’s teachers don’t care about the No Mobile Devices rule. He quickly scrolls through the messages to see what he missed, to find that they were fixated on his sex life for a little while longer, and then went on to chat about some sci-fi movie Nick didn’t see and doesn’t care about. 

He scrolls back as he stands up and walks out next to Liam doing the same thing. As he walks to his last class before lunch, he rereads the bits about him, the jokes about Lewis being an elaborate lie and gentle jabs at his virginity—as though they have any more experience than he does—and his fingers move of their own volition. 

**Nick:** we fucked. 

**Nick:** happy now?

**styles:** No fuckign way

 **payno:** what???? Way to bury the lede

 **styles:** huh?

 **payno:** nm journalism thing

 **Niall:** seriously??????

**Nick:** why is that hard to believe

**styles:** you have met yourself, right?

**Nick:** what the actual fuck

**payno:** don’t listen to him

 **payno:** it’s just…….. weird

**Nick:** I need new friends

**Niall:** can’t talk now, but you have to spill at lunch

 **styles:** was it everything you wanted?

 **payno:** still sounds fake, but okay

**Nick:** fuck off Leemo

**styles:** so he’s like your boyfriend, right?

 **styles:** when can we meet him

With a deep sigh Nick sat down at an empty desk, ready for Biology. 

 

“Come on, don’t want to track sand everywhere,” Nick said as he grabbed Louis’ wrist.

Nick and Louis stumbled into Nick’s bathroom after hours of playing ultimate frisbee together on the beach. It’s possible the only thing that made it ‘ultimate’ was Nick’s lack of coordination but Louis was polite enough not to mention that. They were sweaty and covered in sand, and Nick couldn’t wait to get into the shower. 

He pulled off his shirt, raining sand all over the floor. He wasn’t super happy about the situation, since he was going to have to clean his bathroom afterwards, but there was maybe one way to make the cleaning worth it. 

Nick crossed the small bathroom in one step and paused a moment before swiping a line of dried sand off of Louis’ neck with his thumb. He inched his hand back, so his fingers danced through the bottom of Louis’ hair and he ran the pad of his thumb right behind Louis’ ear. Louis’ eyes fell shut. As Louis reached out for Nick, Nick slid his other hand under Louis’ shirt so he could feel the warm, rough skin of his back. 

They kissed, languid and soft, until Nick couldn’t stand the itch of the sand any longer and he lifted the hem of Louis’ shirt, pulling it up and off his body. 

“Do you want to shower?” Nick asked. 

“Yeah.” Louis sounded breathless. “Thought that was the plan.”

“Um, we could… uh… conserve water…?”

Louis’ cheeks turned a delightful shade of pink. “Yes. If that’s on the table, then yes.”

Over the past weeks Nick had a lot of firsts: that first kiss, first time coming with someone else, hand jobs and blow jobs. But, everything they'd done up this point had been mostly clothed. The idea of being naked in front of Louis had Nick shaking with nerves; the idea of having a naked Louis in front of him had him hard with want. 

“Right, okay, cool.” Nick laughed as he wondered if he should drop his swimsuit, or take off Louis’, or start the water. 

“Um,” Louis looked just as out of his depth as Nick did, which did help ease the nerves. Louis swiped his hair off his forehead and finally let out a giggle of his own. “For fuck’s sake, we’ve already seen the important parts.” He turned around and pulled his trunks off. Nick swayed with the vision of Louis’ very pale ass as he freed his ankles from the material. 

Nick hurried to pull his swimsuit off too while Louis’ back was turned. Then he turned and started the shower. He stuck his hand into the water, waiting for it to warm up. He could sense Louis behind him before he felt him; Louis placed his palms on the wings of Nick’s shoulders, then slowly dragged them down his back until they cupped his ass and squeezed. Nick shuddered at the feeling, and willed the water heater to work faster. After a few moments it was warm enough that Nick was confident he wouldn't freeze to death. 

He stepped in and finally turned around, watching as Louis followed. 

Nick finally let himself look. He drank in Louis’ body. The curves and the tan lines and the way he was running his hands over his body, rinsing the dirty sand off his skin. And he was hard. Nick’s own boner hadn’t flagged either. There was so much to look at and Nick finally took a step into Louis’ space, ran a hand slowly down Louis’ chest, down across his hip, and finally tentatively ran a knuckle along his dick.

“Yes,” Louis said. His voice cracked when he added, “Please.”

Nick nodded and pulled Louis into a kiss. He gripped Louis firmly, and starting pulling him off. With a groan, Louis threw his head back, and then he reached down to do the same to Nick.

Louis mouthed at Nick’s chest, at the concave area between his pecs and the dip of his collarbone, at his pert nipples, sending shocks of heat down to Nick’s cock when he bit down lightly.

“You feel so good,” Louis said. “Love your hands.”

Nick looked down at their crossed arms, at the way their wrists were flicking, at how good they looked in each other’s hands. Nick hadn't thought he’d get the chance to experience any of this before he left for college and got to reinvent himself. 

“Fuck, Louis, can't believe… can't believe this summer is real. This has been…” He was rambling, he knew, but he could feel his orgasm building and he had bottled up all of his feeling over the summer and he felt like he was going to explode if he didn't open the valve and let some of the steam out. “How is this my life? You’re so gorgeous. So perfect. I've wanted you for years. I'm just this nerd and you're, uh…” Nick’s arms grew tense and he held Louis’ dick in place as his own orgasm overtook him. “Louis Fucking Tomlinson.”

Nick slumped a bit against Louis’ shoulder and worked his hand harder. It didn't take much longer before Louis was pulling him into a deep, soft kiss, and Louis was coming too. 

“Was that alright?” Nick asked Louis. He tried not to think about what he had just confessed. 

Louis laughed. “More than. Yeah, love a good orgasm.”

Nick rolled his eyes. “Well yeah, when you put it that way…” 

Nick washed Louis’ body, and tried not to laugh when Louis washed him, clearly spending extra attention on Nick’s ticklish areas. The ended the shower with a little kiss and then Nick climbed out first to get them a clean, unsandy towel to step onto when they got out. 

“For you, my prince.” It was cheesy and Nick was embarrassed by the things falling from his mouth, so he clamped his mouth shut and passed a towel over to Louis without another word. 

As they dried off, it seemed as though Louis was avoiding Nick.

He had no idea what changed, from in the shower to out. His stomach clenched at the idea that this was the moment Louis realized he shouldn't be associated with Nick… even in the privacy of the bathroom. “Everything okay?” he asked. He needed to know. 

“Was just thinking.”

After a beat when Louis didn't elaborate, Nick pressed. “’Bout what?”

“School.” Louis gave him a pressed lip smile. “Starts in a few weeks.”

Nick heart cracked. “Yep.”

“Was thinking about what… like…”

Nick couldn't listen to the words. He knew it was coming, but the words, spoken, would be devastating. A crack he could handle, he had prepared for a crack. But the words would shatter him. 

“It's just a fling.” Nick picked at his cuticle; letting Louis off the hook was one thing, watching him while doing it was something else entirely. “It's been fun, but it'll run its course by the time school starts.”

“Oh. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Louis’ lips were pressed thin and even though Nick knew this was going to happen, it didn’t hurt any less than Louis agreed. 

“Cool. Glad you agree.” Nick’s voice cracked on the last word he turned away. 

Louis was silent for a long moment, until he finally said, “Okay. Right. Okay.” Nick looked up and caught Louis’ eye in the mirror, but then he turned away and was gathering his clothes and was out of the bathroom before Nick could breathe. 

Good. Well, that was done. Nick blinked away the tears while he got dressed alone. He made sure that he looked okay, wasn't blotchy from the unshed tears, and then he stepped into his room. Louis was sitting on his bed, head in his hands. He looked up when Nick walked in. 

“I gotta go home.” Louis clutched his phone. “Mom needs me for something.”

“Oh, okay. Still on for that kite thing tomorrow?”

“Yeah, of course.” Louis pretended to smile and Nick had no idea what that meant. Louis stood and pressed a kiss to Nick’s lips before running out. 

 

 

Nick reads and types, with his head bowed, as he walks to his locker. 

**Z:** Where does he live? Could he come for  
Homecoming?

 **styles:** oh, think how cool you’d be inviting  
someone from a different school

**Nick:** It wasn’t like that

**Nick:** You’re not going to meet him

**Nick:** It was just a summer thing

There, maybe his friends will all drop it. 

He and Louis did go to the kite thing, and they hung out and hooked up every day until they left, and nothing really changed, other than the quiet moments that lingered longer than before. Nick had tightly wrapped his heart in a protective blanket and the painful clench meant it was possibly suffocating, but it was fine. It was going to be okay.

Nick shoves his books into his locker and walks to the cafeteria. He waves to a few people he is friendly with while in line for his hot lunch, then stakes his claim at their regular table until everyone else shows up.

“I’m so glad we all have lunch together. Strength in numbers,” Nick says as he bites into his turkey burger. “Last year sucked.”

Liam takes a long swig from his drink. “Yeah, and it seems like we missed Tommo and his crew too.” Then he lifts his ass a bit and looks around the cafeteria. “Don’t see them anywhere.”

Harry sighs. “He is pretty to look at though.”

“Harry!” Louis _is_ pretty to look at, but now that Nick knows that he adores his sisters and is silly and smart and passionate… Well, ‘eye candy’ feels a bit insulting. 

“You’re not the only one who can have a crush on him,” Harry grumbles. “It’s not like he’s ever going to look in our direction so, like, might as well make the best of our invisibility and ogle him.” 

“Um…” Zayn shakes his head. “I think he knows who we are.”

“How?” Harry says. 

“What?” Nick asks at the same time, his voice an octave higher than normal. 

“Yeah, actually.” Niall stabs a piece of pineapple on his fork and points it at Nick. “I saw him in the bathroom earlier and he was asking about you.”

“Me?” Nick’s voice gets higher. There’s no good reason for Louis to be asking about him. 

“Same,” Zayn says. “He was trying to figure out if you two had any of the same classes.”

“What the fuck?” Nick asks. 

Liam looks back and forth between Zayn and Nick. “How does he know who you—”

“Shut up.” Harry smacks his arm. “He’s coming this way.”

Nick tries to make himself as small as possible… as if that will render him invisible. 

Niall freezes while bringing a fry to his mouth. “I’m serious, how did we end up on his radar?”

Nick senses Louis before he sees him, and finally turns to face him head on. He looks perfect, which shouldn’t be a surprise, but it knocks Nick’s breath away anyway. Louis’ hair is artfully messy, and his outfit is somehow preppy and athletic at the same time, and his smile, fuck, Nick needs to get a grip. 

“Hi Nicholas. Niall.” With a wave Louis says hi to the rest of the table as well. 

Nick is going to burst into flames, spontaneous combustion is totally possible with enough embarrassing heat and awkward energy. He has no idea at all what Louis is playing at, and he curls in on himself at the thought that all of it may have been an elaborate prank and Louis is here to deliver the final, public blow. 

“Don’t call him that,” Harry all but growls. 

Nick snaps his head up to Harry because he forgot, he totally forgot, how much he hates being called Nicholas. Louis manages to say it with such fondness that it used to make Nick’s heart swell, but now it sits like a weight on his chest. Out of the corner of his eye he sees Louis still looking at him. 

“Oh, why? Do you not like—”

Nick shrugs as Harry rolls his eyes. 

“If you hadn't ignored his existence for eleven years then maybe you’d know that,” Harry continues.

“It’s fine.” Nick is mortified, actually. 

Louis gapes for a moment before seemingly shaking himself out of it. “Sorry,” his cheeks are possibly redder than the day after he forgot sunscreen at the amusement park. “Didn't mean… I… I didn't know.” 

“What do you want?” Nick asks. 

“Can we talk for a minute?” 

“Anything you can say to him, you can say in front of us,” Niall huffs. 

“Witnesses…” Zayn adds softly. 

Louis’ eyes go wide. “Oh, didn't know anyone knew. Right, um…”

Nick knows he should let Louis have a bubble of privacy. Or, he should do it for himself since public humiliation isn’t really something he's into. 

“No, we can…” Nick tries to say, but Louis shakes his head. 

“No, this is better, maybe? I'm not, like, embarrassed or whatever you guys must think.” 

Nick registers the petulant looks on his friends’ faces and realizes suddenly that maybe he misjudged this whole thing. 

Louis continues, “I know we should've talked about it earlier, so I don't have anyone to blame, but I didn't realize you thought it was a casual thing.” He takes a deep breath as Nick’s friends look confused. “It wasn't, for me. I wanted, still want—the past few days have been awful—and I really want to be your boyfriend.” A collective gasp goes up at the table, and at that moment a few of Louis’ friends come over, all staring daggers at Nick. “If you’ll let me, I want to woo you, I want to prove that I’ll be the best for you. I know you’ve already said no once, so I'm not going to be all creepy stalker about getting you to say yes, but I wanted to tell you that, like, I'm here if you ever change your mind.”

Oli grabs Louis’ elbow and pulls him away, and Nick’s stupified. He has no idea how to start processing how wrong he had been. 

“Lewis?” Liam asks, exaggerating the ‘s.’

“I didn't think… that's not how life works. He and his friends were supposed to bully me this year, that's what happens in the movies…”

“Was he good to you?” Zayn asks. 

“Yeah, he’s uh, nice. It was—the summer was perfect. I'm not supposed to get this in real life though.”

Harry’s eyes suddenly go very wide. “You lost your v-card—”

“Oh my god, you guys have to stop calling it that.”

“You lost it to Louis Fucking Tomlinson? Holy fucking shit. How was it? Is the rumor true? Is he hung?” Harry looks like an excited puppy begging for scraps.

“In no universe am I ever going to answer any of those questions.”

“Hey Nick.” Nick can't be more grateful to Zayn for interrupting the chain of questions he knows Harry is about to ask. Zayn points toward the end of the lunch line. “Might want to go get your boy.” Nick follows Zayn’s eye line and most of the baseball team is surrounding Louis, patting his back and offering support. 

“Yeah, fuck.” Nick stands up. He knows they're going to be protective and after this mess he’ll have to win them over, an uphill battle to begin with, but he needs to work his way past them.

As soon as one of them sees Nick walking over, they all stiffen and their faces are straight up menacing. 

“Hey Lou, can we…” Oli shakes his head and Nick takes a deep breath. “Right. Fair’s fair. I was wrong. I thought, assumed, you'd want nothing to do with me now, since you're, _you_ and I'm just me.”

Louis’ brows furrows. “What made you think that?”

“Nothing,” Nick stumbles. “Fear, I think.”

Louis juts his chin out. “Still scared?”

“I’m over here squaring up to the jocks, aren’t I?”

Louis shakes his head. “We’re not a bad group.”

“We are if you hurt him again,” Oli threatens. 

“Duly noted.”

Louis and his friends have a conversation with their eyes, and then Louis’ friends file away. Some even pat Nick on the back, which is weird, but he thinks he can get used to it. 

For the first time, Louis looks almost bashful. He ducks his head and scuffs his Vans against the linoleum. “So, uh, you’re serious? You’re okay with our little fling ending, becoming… something else? Maybe… boyfriends instead?” He raises his head and squares himself for Nick’s answer. 

Nick groans. “It was never a fling. And yes, boyfriends sounds… overwhelming. But good, really good.”

“This year would’ve been the worst.” Louis bites his lip and grabs Nick’s hand to hold. “Seeing you every day and not getting to kiss you.” He runs his thumb along the back of Nick’s hand. “Not getting to touch you.”

Nick scoffs. “Would’ve been like every other year.”

Louis shakes his head and brings Nick in for a quick kiss. “Didn’t know what I was missing. Won’t be giving it up now.” They kiss again, and the students around them make an exaggerated _oooooooh_ sound. 

Louis squeezes his hand and wiggles his eyebrows. “Bathroom might be empty…”

Nick can’t believe this is his life now. “Let’s go.”

Nick’s phone buzzes in his pocket, and when he checks it later, his friends have sent a wall of eggplant emojis. He couldn’t ask for better friends… or a better boyfriend. Senior year is going to be epic. 

**Author's Note:**

> [Here's a shareable tumblr link if you liked it! xx](http://louandhazaf.tumblr.com/post/167872946068/title-those-summer-nights-author-yesisaworld)


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